Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I want to thank all honourable members for their contributions to this debate on the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Amendment (Ensuring Integrity) Bill 2017. This bill will protect workers and union members from the culture of lawlessness within some registered organisations that were identified by the Heydon Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.

The Heydon royal commission identified numerous examples of officials breaking their duties; engaging in blackmail, extortion, coercion and secondary boycott conduct; abusing the rights of entry; acting in contempt of court; or failing to stop their organisations from repeatedly breaking the law. The royal commission found that a culture of lawlessness existed in various organisations where such conduct was rampant and officials were unwilling or unable to institute the change necessary. That is why we committed, at the last election, to implement the changes in this bill to ensure that members can trust that their organisations representing them act with integrity and in their best interests.

I turn now to some of the matters raised in the debate. There has been some discussion that the bill imposes harsher or higher standards on registered organisations than on corporations. The bill takes existing provisions of workplace and corporate laws and adapts them for the nature of registered organisations. There is nothing unprecedented about the provisions in the bill, and they don't impose higher or harsher standards on registered organisations than on corporations.

There has also been some discussion that the bill imposes onerous standards on registered organisations that will somehow discourage volunteering within those organisations. This argument is a fallacy. In fact, the bill does not impose any additional obligations at all on officials, voluntary or otherwise, but, rather, it applies consequences for organisations or officials who break the law or breach their duties to members. In addition, just like corporate regulation, the bill does not exempt volunteer officials from consequences for wrongdoing—just as they are not currently exempted. Officials are trusted by members to act in their interests and, of course, to obey the law, regardless of whether they are paid or not.

There has been some discussion that the bill expands the range of people who have standing to a point where government and businesses can supposedly interfere with a registered organisation's affairs. This is, again, another fallacy. The standing rules in the bill are based on provisions that already exist in the Fair Work Act and Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act. They give standing only to those parties with a genuine and sufficient interest. However, importantly and significantly, it is only the independent umpires, the Federal Court and the Fair Work Commission, that have the power to make orders to address law-breaking behaviour. The bill does nothing to change this existing status. The bill will not encourage frivolous or vexatious claims, which can already be dismissed and costs imposed by both the Federal Court and the Fair Work Commission.

The suggestion, again, that the bill does not comply with Australia's international legal obligations is incorrect. The ILO convention on freedom of association provides workers with the freedom to join unions but also requires that unions comply with the law of the land. This does not diminish the right to join a registered organisation, but it does require compliance with existing Australian laws, and this is wholly consistent with the convention.

There has also been debate about whether the bill targets the CFMEU. The bill is not targeting any particular official or registered organisation. What it targets is law-breaking behaviour. The provisions apply equally to any official or organisation that continually flouts the law, breaches duties or fails to put their members first. That the CFMEU is consistently raised in the context of this bill says more about its behaviour than the measures in the bill.

There has also been debate about the need for the public interest test for mergers introduced by the bill. I would remind all members that a public interest test previously applied until the introduction of Labor's Fair Work Act. Prior to this time, the public interest needed to be taken into account when the predecessor to the Fair Work Commission was performing its functions in relation to registered organisation matters. The public interest test in the bill will ensure that organisations with a culture of lawlessness cannot seek to expand their influence and their operating model through mergers. In addition, when companies seek to merge, they must first satisfy a regulator—in that case, the ACCC—that the merger won't, in that instance, damage the public interest by substantially lessening competition. Such a merger can only be approved by the Australian Competition Tribunal if it would be in the public interest—again, consistent with the approach in this bill for registered organisations.

Finally, there has been some discussion about consultation on the bill. Consultation was undertaken on the draft bill before it was introduced as part of the standard consolation process on industrial legislation. The bill also responds to the findings and recommendations of the two-year long royal commission, which had 189 days of hearings, heard from 505 witnesses, and conducted public hearings all over Australia. In addition, the amendments in the bill have been government policy since June 2016, when we committed to them before the last election.

I'd like to thank the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee for their inquiry into this bill, and those individuals and organisations who have contributed by preparing written submissions and giving evidence at public hearings. I note that the committee made no recommendations for amendment to the bill, and I therefore, commend the bill to the House.

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